>>Homeland Security Agent Charged with Producing Child Porn
(Minneapolis, MN) — The FBI is charging a Minnesota federal agent with producing child pornography. Court documents say 51-year-old Timothy Gregg of Eagan attempted, coerced, and enticed a minor to make sexually explicit content with an older individual to make child porn. The minor’s father found the images and videos on the minor’s cell phone and reported it. Gregg is a Special Agent with Homeland Security Investigations and a Task Force Officer with the FBI. He will remain in custody pending court appearances.
>>Governor, Legislative Leaders Meet at Capitol
(St. Paul, MN) – After a day of meetings, still no special session called by Governor Tim Walz. In a briefing with reporters, the governor says the work is still being done on the final bills, the revisors are making their final edits, and negotiating continues with leaders about the order of the special session. The governor did not rule out the possibility that the special session could start on Saturday, and he’s confident it will be a one-day session. His next deadline is Monday, when the governor will have to send out the next 28,000 layoff notices to state workers about a potential government shutdown on July 1st.
>>DPS Warns About DMV Text Scam
(Undated, MN) — The Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) is warning Minnesotans about a Department of Vehicle Services (DVS) text scam. Scammers pretending to be DVS or other state agencies are texting people about outstanding traffic tickets that could result in further action if not paid. Officials say any texts or emails that send you to a payment link, ask for urgent payment or action, or ask for personal information are a scam and should be reported to authorities. The scam may involve threats of suspended driving privileges or vehicle registration, service fees, or a violation in the DVS database.
>>Northern MN Wildfire Updates
(Undated) — Northern Minnesota wildfires are seeing no containment and even some backslides as we continue to see warm temperatures and gusty winds. The Jenkins Creek fire in Brimson is now at 94%, compared to 98% last week, with over 200 personnel working on the fire. The Horse River fire in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) remains at 0% containment. 26 personnel say they’re working on collecting GPS locations to improve mapping of the fire’s perimeter. The National Incident Management Organization (NIMO) Team is now managing both fires instead of the Eastern Incident Management Team, which was leading the wildfire fight.
>>Air Quality Alert Expires, Conditions Returning to Normal
(Undated) – The statewide air quality alert expired this afternoon, and conditions are returning to normal. Minnesota Pollution Control Agency air quality forecaster Ryan Lueck says the winds from the Canadian wildfire smoke have moved to southern Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa. He adds that Minnesota is now in the green or yellow Air Quality Index (AQI) category, which means “good” to “moderate” air quality. That wildfire smoke could move back into the state on Sunday.
>>MNA Nurses Picket at 11 Metro Hospitals
(Undated) – Thousands of nurses with the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) are picketing outside eleven metro hospitals today to demand better. Children’s Hospital (St. Paul Campus) RN Melissa Knoll says since their last contract in December 2022, nurses have filed numerous safe staffing reports, with Children’s Hospital filing 3,715 reports at their Minneapolis campus and 2,806 reports at the St. Paul campus. United Hospital Oncologist RN Asher Herndon says patients are suffering serious injuries and death, which “are predictable outcomes of chronic, dangerous understaffing.”Herndon adds that Allina Health is staffing its hospitals at the 40th percentile, meaning 60% of hospitals have many more staff on the floor at once than they do.
